Slide trombone



Patented July 27, 1926.

1,593,603 PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN SCHINDLER, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

SLIDE TROMBONE.

Application filed September 21, 1922. Serial No. 589,543.

This invention relates slide trombones.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to construct slide trombones byplacing the inner tubes of the mouth piece and of the pavilion'endwithin the outer tube or slide end of the trombone and allowingconsiderable play between them. This practice has led to serious resultsin that the tubes, when in use, were continually bearing against toimprovements in each other and causing considerable wear.

- which, in time, became so extensive as to require the replacement ofthe worn parts with resultant inconvenience and expense to the possessorof a trombone.

The old practice of constructing slide troinbones, in which the innerand outer tubes were loosely fitted, caused the outer or slide tubes towear excessively and no provision wasmade for relieving these tubes ofexcessive wear. 3

Slide tubes have previously been constructed by soldering tubularportions together and connecting their ends by soldering a one piecehandle to them. When the open ends of the slide had become worn due totheir frictional engagement with the inner tubes, it was necessary todisassemble the slide and reconstruct it by replacing the worn openend'portions with new ones. It was not, under the oldpractice, necessaryto accurately align the tubes axially for the reason that the innerdiameter of the outer tube was greater than the outer diameter of theinner tube. It is, therefore, the primary object of this inventiontoprovide for the outer and inner tubes of a trombone a split bushing,which may be easily replaced by a new bushing when it has'become worn,and thereby to obviate the necessity under the old practice ofsubstituting a new tube for one which has become worn by usage.

The tubes of the pavilion ends of trombones have not heretofore beenfitted closely within the slide tubes. In fact, a close fit has beenimpossible because of the one piece construction of theslide end and therigid connection of the tubes of the slide endby means of the handle ifthe pavilion end and the slide end were both made with unyielding endportions and were connected with close sliding fit. Minor inaccuraciesin the spacing of the tubes of either element would I make theinstrument inoperative.

obviously result in such binding as would For this reason it hasheretofore been customary to make a very loose sliding connectionbetween the pavilion end of the instrument and the slide end thereof.The very looseness of the connection has led to excessive wear for theobvious reason that when the instrument is being played the slide willnot always be moved in a perfectly straight line, and as a consequencepoints of contact will be established adjacent the ends of thetelescopically related tubes, and the wear at such points of contactswill be excessive. It is one object of the present invention to providea device wherein the tubes which make up the slide end of the tromboneare adjustable to compensate for any Variance in spacing of thecorresponding tubes of the pavilion end of'the instrument so that thebearing between the tubes of the pavilion end and those of the slide maybe made with a very close sliding fit. It has already been suggestedabove that a special bushing is provided upon each of the tubesconstituting the slide. It. is desired that this bush ing shall be madeof such a length asto guide the pavilion tubes adequately while fittingclosely to such tubes throughout the length of the hearing so thatexcessive wear will not be developed at any point. It is also desired tomake the bushings in such form that lubrication can readily be pro.-vided between the bushing and the tubes closely fitted therein.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a handle for theouter or slide tube which may be easily adjusted to allow the inner andouter tubes to be axially ali ned when the bushings have been put in pace, and which may be easily disengaged when for any reason it may benecessary to repair any portion of the slide tube of the trombone.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bushing and handlefor the slide tube which may be easily and cheaply manu factured andwhich will greatly reduce the cost of repairing a trombone.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a slide trombone showing the slide tubewith a portion broken away and a portion of the pavilion end of thetrombone removed.

Fig. 2 is one-half of a split bushing.

Fig. 3 is the other half of a split bushing.

Fig. 4 shows one end of the slide tube and theinner tube with a slightlymodified bushing in place. r

Fig. is an end view of the bushing.

Like parts are identified by the same rel?- erence characters throughoutthe several views.

The pavilion end l of the trombone has a tubular portion 2. extending;into one end 3 of the slide tube. The pavilion end 1 is connected to themouth piece end 4 by a handle 5. The mouth piece end has a tubularportion 6 which extends into the tubular end 7 Oll' the slide. It isul'iderstood that the tubular ends and 7 of the slide are connected attheir ends by a curved tube in the usual way.

As previously pointed out. it has not heretotore been new ary toaccurately align the slide with the tubes oithe mouth piece and pavilionends. axially. However. in the present invention, it has been touudconverient to allow the bushings l3, alter-they have been placed inoperative position, to align then'iselves coneentrically with the ends 3and 7'. 'llheretfore. th ends 3 and 7 are also connected by a h fle 8Whicln in the present cor .truction, has an outer tube 9 integrral withthe end. 33 and an inner tube it) integral with the end The outer andinner portions 9 and 1t) ot the handle 8. are telesopie. A screw It isthreaded into the portion 9 and passes through the slot til in theportions ill and is adaptedto allow prop-- er adjustment; oi distancebetween the ends 3 and i' of the slide tube.

The slide tube oi a trombone, as previously constructed, was not, at itsends. con ven'trically aligned with the inner tubes and was permitted tofrictionally engage the inner tubes longitudinally, thereby causing GX-ces we wear of the ends o'l th slide. In order to overcome this wear, abushing 13 is provided which has a threaded end. i l a Clapt- 6t to bescrewed into the end 15 ot the slide tube. The bushing is made in twohalves 16 and t7 which are provided with flanges 18 a l The 'tlan z e 18of the portion 16 has dowel pins it) and 20 adapted to lit into theholes ill. and B2 in the flange 18 oil the pin-lion l The l'lange i8 isknurled to l? fl'tate screwing the bushing into the ends of it slide.The bushing is adapted to lit slulably about the tubular portions 2 ielement l7. This bushing may corin size. shape, and appearance to ti.The construction illustrated in l un-es l and $3 is preterred however,since bushing i6 is the lower bushing and by." extending it I canprovide any desired amount oi l'ieariug surtace to keep the tubes 2 and6 tron: sticking); in the slide tubes 3 and "F. 1 illustrate di'l'terentembodiments of my invention merely to indicate that the length of eitherbushing element or both bushing elements upon a given tube may be variedas desired or to suit the requirements o'l any given installation.

It is preferred. however, that a bushing oi the shape indicated in Fig.3 be used on the under side of the tubes 2 and U and a bushing of theshape shown in Fig. 2 be used on the upper s de oithe tubes 2 and 6. Inconstructing the bushing 16, as shown in Fig. 3. an oil retaining cup tois termed wherein oil retained to lubricate thetubes 2 and b as theyslide upon their respective buslr ings in. tile far as I am aware nomeans have been l'ieretoitore provided for retaining Oil for the purposeof lubricating the sliding portions of a trombone.

it will. therefore, be noted that when it is desired to put; a bushingin place about the tubes E3 and (3. the two portions 16 and .1? ol' thebushing 13 are placed about the tube and. held in properadjustment bythe dowel pins 19 and 20. The bushing then screwnl into the end to untilthe Hanged portion l8 is seated upon the end 15 with sutlicient pressureto loel; the bushing in position. If it is desired to rel'i'iriive thebushing, the reverse operation will be perlt'ormed. It will lurther benoted that when the bushings have been put in operative POSltlOIL, thetelescopically related ends 9 and it) of the handle s will adjust.themselves by .tlSOI] oi the slot 12 which allows the ends 3 and 7 olthe slide to align lllGillSGlVGS axially with the ends 2 and lVhen it isdesired to remove one of the ends 3 and T of the slide, the bushings l3vmay be taken oil' as described and the slide removed. from the innertubes 2 and (3. The screw it may then be removed to allow the ends 9 and10 oil the handle 8 to separateand thereby facilitate the removal of oneof the ends of the slide for repair.

It will be noted that the outer end of the bushing element 17 flared anda corre sponding portion of the bushing element l7 is shaped to providea receptacle 16 into which oil may be placed for the luln'ieation ot theclose fitting; bearing between the bushing; and the tubes slidabletherein.

it will be understood trom the foregoing that the tubes have a veryclose sliding lit within the bushing elements threaded into the slidetubes. The. bushing element will, of course, be made o'li such a lengthas to provide adequate guidance and bearing support for the tubes inorder that there may he no binding between the tubes and the slide.Thus. there is no contact between tubes 2 and (3 and tubes 3 and. 7 atany point. The tubes are rt-ilated'only through the bushings abovedescribed. The arrangementis-such that the bushings will take all of thewear.

it will therefore, be seenthat a bushing has been provided tor the innertubes and the slide tube of a trombone which at all times keeps thetubes in axial alignment and which may be removed from the tubes whenworn, and replaced by a new one, without necessitating replacement ofportions of the slide by new portions.

It will also be seen that an oil retaining cup has been provided wherebythe sliding portions of the trombone may be at all times properlylubricated.

Itwill further be seen that a handle for the slide of a trombone hasbeen provided which allows for adjustment between the tubular ends ofthe slide so that these ends may be axially aligned with the inner tubesof a trombone. This handle also provides an easy method of disconnectingthe tubular ends of the slide when for any reason it becomes necessaryto remove one oi the ends for repair.

I claim:

1. In a slide trombone provided with a slide having spaced tubular endsand inner tubes extending into said ends and having their outer wallsspaced from the inner walls of said ends, bushings within said ends andthreadedly engaged therewith, each of said bushings comprisinga pair ofsemicylindrical members having co-operating threaded portions, and meansfor retaining said threaded portions in alignment.

2. In a slide trombone provided with a slide having spaced tubular endsand inner tubes extending into said ends and having their outer wallsspaced from the inner walls of said ends, bushings within said ends,each of said bushings comprising a relatively long semi-cylindricalmember and a relatively short semi-cylindrical member, and releas ablemeans for removably retaining said members within their correspondingends of said slide tube, whereby to provide an elongated, replacablebearing for said inner tube.

3. In a slide trombone having a slide provided with spaced ends, ahandle provided with means for varying the spaced relation of said ends.

4:. In a slide trombone having a slide provided with spaced,substantially parallel ends, an adjustable handle comprising a pair oftelescopic members each secured to one of said ends, and means forsecuring said members together, whereby to vary the distance betweensaid ends.

5. In a slid trombone having a slide provided with spaced, substantiallyparallel ends, a handle secured to one of said ends and having anadjustable connection with the other of said ends.

6. In a slide for trombones, the combination of a tubular end havingcylindrical extensions angularly disposed from said end, a secondtubular end having a cylindrical tubular extension adapted to be mountedwithin the first mentioned extension, and split bushings adapted to bepositioned within the tubular ends of the slide.

7. In a slide trombone having an inner slide, the combination with aslide tube, of a relatively short semi-cylindrical bushing element, anda relatively long semi-cylindrical bushing element adapted to bepositioned within the under side of said slide tube whereby said lastmentioned bushing element presents a relatively long bearing surface tothe inner slide of said trombone.

8. In a slide for trombones, the combina tion of spaced tubular endshaving integral extensions disposed angularly from said ends of saidextensions being telescopically engaged with each other, and a splitbushing comprising a semicylindrical port-ion having a threaded end anda flange and dowel pins extending from said flange and a secondsemi-cylindrical portion having a threaded end and a flange providedwith holes of which the walls engage said dowel pins whereby saidthreaded ends are held in registry with each other. I

9. In a slide trombone, the combination with a slide having spacedtubular ends, of a handle adjustable in length, connecting said ends,and a bushing adapted to be screwed into one end of said slide.

10. In a slide trombone, the combination with a slide havingsubstantially parallel ends, of a handle adjustable in length connectingsaid ends, tubular rods extending into said ends, longitudinally splitbushings seated upon the ends of said slide and disposed concentricallybetween said slide and said rods, and means associated with saidbushings adapted to hold the ports thereof .in alignment.

11. In a slide trombone having a slide provided with spacedsubstantially parallel tubular ends and inner tubes extending into saidends and having their outer walls spaced from the inner walls of saidends; a bushing within each of said ends and comprising a pair ofsemi-cylindrical mem bers, releasable means for removably retaining saidmembers within said ends, and a handle secured to one of said ends andhaving an adjustable connection with the other of said ends, whereby toalign said bushings and their corresponding tubes.

12. In a slide trombone having a slide provided with spaced tubularends, inner tubes each extending into one of said ends, and bushingseach removably positioned be tween corresponding ends and tubes; ahandle including adjustable members each carried by one of said ends forvarying the spaced relation of saidends.

HERMAN SGHINDLER.

